Using Ammonia Effectively

Overcoming Obstacles and Maximising Benefits

Dr Andy Pearson
Star Refrigeration

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 Introduction – Ammonia: the paradoxes

• The Paradoxes
– Natural or not?
– Good or evil?
– Safe or dangerous?

2
 Using Ammonia Effectively – Presentation Contents

• Introduction
– Reasons for wanting to use ammonia
– Range of possible applications
– Scope of potential advantages
• Overcoming Obstacles
– Toxicity
– Flammability
– Public Image
• Strategy for Success
– Design considerations
– Legislative Framework

3
 Using Ammonia Effectively – Presentation Contents

• Introduction
– Reasons for wanting to use ammonia
– Range of possible applications
– Scope of potential advantages
• Overcoming Obstacles
– Toxicity
– Flammability
– Public Image
• Strategy for Success
– Design considerations
– Legislative Framework

4
 Reasons for wanting to use ammonia

5
 Reasons for wanting to use ammonia

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 Reasons for wanting to use ammonia

• High Temp Heat Pump

• District Heating
• Process Heating
• Air cooled chiller
• Water cooled chiller
• Process chiller
• Ice rink
• Cold Store
• Air Blast Freezer
• Spiral Freezer
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 Ammonia as a heat pump fluid

E A B C D

A = subcooling
B = condensing
C = desuperheating
D = oil cooling
E = more subcool
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 R-134a as a heat pump fluid

E A B C D

A = subcooling
B = condensing
C = desuperheating
D = oil cooling
E = more subcool
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 R-134a as a chiller fluid

4.0 for 45%

3.7 for
12%
3.4 for 42%
2.6 for 1%

IPLV =3.7

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 Ammonia as a chiller fluid

5.0 for 45%

4.8 for 12%
4.1 for 42%
3.0 for 1%

IPLV =4.6

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 Ammonia as a chiller fluid

• Factory tested
• Guaranteed
performance
• Plug and play
• Good turndown
• Compact Design
• Low charge
• Low noise levels
• Efficient fans
• Long-life package

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 Using Ammonia Effectively – Presentation Contents

• Introduction
– Reasons for wanting to use ammonia
– Range of possible applications
– Scope of potential advantages
• Overcoming Obstacles
– Toxicity
– Flammability
– Public Image
• Strategy for Success
– Design considerations
– Legislative Framework

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 Overcoming Obstacles - Toxicity

• Toxic effect is related to dose

• Dose for ammonia exposure is a combination:
• Concentration of ammonia in the atmosphere….
• ….and length of time the exposure lasts
• In the short term high doses can be tolerated:
• For example a dose of 5000ppm would likely be fatal
after two hours exposure….
• ….but it is not likely to cause any injury whatsoever if
the exposure lasts for less than one minute

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 Overcoming Obstacles - Toxicity

8 hour TLV

?
300ppm
IDLH

30

15 15 min TLV

700ppm
1000ppmIDLH?
IDLH?
* Henderson and Haggard (1943) cited in AIHA “Hygienic Guide Series” (1971)

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 Overcoming Obstacles - Toxicity
• Accidents occur when the rules are not
followed, so….
• ….make the rules easier to follow
• Do not impose excessive constraints or
restrictions;
• ….too much PPE can cause accidents!
• Have a canister respirator to
hand when opening a system
• Wear the respirator when the
ammonia smell is “strong”
• If in doubt, retreat!
• Only experts should use
SCBA

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 Flammability: detonation, explosion or conflagration?

• There are two main considerations when discussing

flammability:
– How easy is the gas to ignite?
– How much damage does it do when it burns?
• These are assessed in EN378 by considering:

HOC (MJ/kg)
– Lower flammable limit
LFL > 3.5 v/v
– Heat of Combustion

HOC < 19MJ/kg

20MJ/kg

Class 2

0MJ/kg
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
LFL (ppm v/v)
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 Flammability: detonation, explosion or conflagration?

• Some new factors are being considered:

– Burning velocity
– Minimum Ignition Energy
• These are not currently assessed in EN378
• MIE is an alternative to LFL (how easy…?)
• BV is an alternative to HOC (how damaging…?)

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 Flammability: detonation, explosion or conflagration?

Key Questions:
• Does this change do anything to make systems safer?
• Are these new parameters easier to measure?
• Do we need more than 2 classes:
– Non-flammable
– Flammable
• Do we need more than 3 classes:
– Non-flammable
– Mildly flammable
– Highly flammable

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 Overcoming Obstacles - Public Image (1)

• 10 August: Fatal accident on Malaysian trawler kills six workers,

five injured. Ammonia in refrigeration system is blamed in the
press

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21
 Overcoming Obstacles - Public Image (1)

• 10 August: Fatal accident on Malaysian trawler kills six workers,

five injured. Ammonia in refrigeration system is blamed in the
press
• 18 August: Further investigation suggests that ammonia was
not to blame, but the workers were overcome by hydrogen
sulphide

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23
 Overcoming Obstacles - Public Image (1)

• 10 August: Fatal accident on Malaysian trawler kills six workers,

five injured. Ammonia in refrigeration system is blamed in the
press
• 18 August: Further investigation suggests that ammonia was
not to blame, but the workers were overcome by hydrogen
sulphide
• 25 August: It later transpires that the refrigeration system used
R22, not ammonia
• Questions: how far did the original news spread?
How far did the later correction spread?

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 Overcoming Obstacles - Public Image (1)

• 10 August: Fatal accident on Malaysian trawler kills six workers,

five injured. Ammonia in refrigeration system is blamed in the
press
• 18 August: Further investigation suggests that ammonia was
not to blame, but the workers were overcome by hydrogen
sulphide
• 25 August: It later transpires that the refrigeration system used
R22, not ammonia
• 1 October: ACR News – “An ammonia leak on a refrigeration
system at a fish plant in Malaysia claimed six lives last month.
The victims all died from ammonia inhalation”

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 Overcoming Obstacles - Public Image (2)

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 Overcoming Obstacles - Public Image (2)

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 Using Ammonia Effectively – Presentation Contents

• Introduction
– Reasons for wanting to use ammonia
– Range of possible applications
– Scope of potential advantages
• Overcoming Obstacles
– Toxicity
– Flammability
– Public Image
• Strategy for Success
– Design considerations
– Legislative Framework

28
 Design Considerations: Recommendations

• Purchaser:
– Specify EN378 as minimum design
– Mandate detectors and alarms in unoccupied areas
– Prohibit automatic plant room ventilation
• Designer/Installer:
– Ensure compliance with EN378 parts 2 and 3
– Design for minimum charge
– Design for lifetime operation and efficiency
• Operator:
– Ensure that the plant is designed for maintenance
– Conduct a HAZOP before the design is finished
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 Legislative Framework: Recommendations

• Toxicity:
– Raise the IDLH to 1000ppm
– Mandate detectors and alarms in unoccupied areas
– Prohibit automatic plant room ventilation
• Flammability:
– Stick with 3 classes (non-f, mildly-f and highly-f )
– Use other metrics if appropriate but apply them simply
and consistently
– Make the metric easy to measure and easy to validate
• Public Image:
– Don’t believe everything you read in the papers
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 Conclusions

• Ammonia is safe if it is used correctly

• It is easy to use, and reliable in operation
• It offers exceptionally good efficiency
• The two key drivers for increased adoption are:
– Reduced charge systems
– Enlightened regulation
• Incentive will come from:
– Training and familiarity
– Technical Development
– Economies of Scale

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